Issues in Public and Nonprofit Administration

Minimum Wage: Where Should the Line Be?

Minimum wage has been a topic of much debate for a number of years at all levels of government and politics. We have seen multiple marches, demonstrations, debates, and news articles advocating for one side of the other and there has yet to be any real decision made either way. With any controversy, I find it always best to determine the roots of the controversy itself and explore the major arguments for both sides of the issue and leave the choice up to each individual who can then talk to their representatives and voice their opinion.

Background on Minimum Wage

“The federal minimum wage was introduced in 1938 during the Great Depression under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was initially set at $0.25 per hour and has been increased by Congress 22 times, most recently in 2009 when it went from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour” (ProCon.org, 2016). In 2015, nearly two and a half million workers earned at or below the national minimum wage. Since the latest minimum wage increase in 2009, there have been additional attempts to raise the minimum wage to what some refer to as a more feasible living wage. Of the numerous attempts made, “the two main efforts are the Harkin-Miller proposal to raise the wage to $10.10 and the Living Wage Movement to raise the wage to $15” (ProCon.org, 2016). Public opinion also varies, naturally, between workers and business owners. Of the many statistics floating around the web, “a May 2015 poll conducted by CBS and the New York Times found that 71% of Americans favored raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, with 26% opposed” (ProCon.org, 2016). Likewise, “a 2013 Gallup poll found that 50% of small business owners were opposed to raising the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour and 60% believed such an increase would hurt most small business owners” (ProCon.org, 2016). Upon looking at this concise collection of background information, it is no wonder that there is so much debate on the topic.

The Arguments

As mentioned earlier, there are always two sides to a controversy and one cannot consider one side without considering the other. The major argument for raising the minimum wage is that it will stimulate economic growth and add jobs. These proponents maintain “that a minimum wage increase from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $10.10 would inject $22.1 billion net into the economy and create about 85,000 new jobs over a three-year phase-in period” (ProCon.org, 2017). In contrast, the most prevalent argument against a minimum wage increase is that it will actually force businesses to lay off their employees and increase the overall unemployment level. “The Congressional Budget Office projected that a minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $10.10 would result in a loss of 500,000 jobs. [5] In a survey of 1,213 businesses and human resources professionals, 38% of employers who currently pay minimum wage said they would lay off some employees if the minimum wage was raised to $10.10. 54% said they would decrease hiring levels” (ProCon.org, 2017).

These are by far the most widely heard arguments surrounding the controversy. Other arguments for raising the minimum wage include that it will reduce poverty, reduce the overall dependence on welfare, reduce inequality in gender, race, and income, and even increase the overall physical health of the nation. Likewise, the opponents of the increase maintain that the higher wage would increase poverty, cause businesses to go out of business, raise the prices of consumer goods, shut teenagers and younger workers out of the workforce, cause industry to seek more automation and reduce labor force, and increase the amount of outsourcing (ProCon.org, 2017).

As it can be seen, there is a plethora of arguments both for and against the subject, and I highly recommend visiting the site and reading the explanations. I feel they really take a non-partisan approach and plainly lay out all the arguments so that an individual can freely make their own decision on the subject.

My Opinion

Having read all these arguments and looking at the sources mentioned, I feel that a minimum wage increase is not the best idea. Personally, I do not think that the minimum wage was even intended to be a living wage nor should it be. I worked minimum wage jobs and all it did was motivate me to work hard and reach for the next level within the company that pays higher than the minimum wage. I foresee that an increase will hurt businesses and cause a decline in the workforce due to industry and businesses adopting more automation and removing the non-skilled labor positions.

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5 Responses

I really enjoyed reading your blog and all of the time and effort you put in to showing both sides of the argument so that your reader could make up their own mind. This topic is one that I have heard debated so many times even within my own family. On one hand, there are men and women who are working as hard as they can at a job that doesn’t earn enough to pay their bills. This is an extremely sad situation and I don’t personally feel as if the American Dream should be out of anyone’s reach.

At the same time, an increase in minimum wage could cause more companies to begin laying off employees because they can not afford a salary increase and still manage to make a profit without charging consumers more. If these companies do increase their prices, sales would drop and both the company and their employees would suffer.

One of the arguments I hear most often against raising the minimum wage is that these jobs were never meant to be a sole means of support for a family. They are apparently supposed to be more of a stepping stone to higher paying positions. For instance, an individual starts off as a bagger in a grocery store before being promoted to cashier. After they have proven their reliability, the cashier is then promoted again until eventually they become a manager. Once they reach this level, their income has increased substantially from where it first started out.

Looking at it from a strictly business standpoint, I don’t see how an increase in minimum wage would help companies nor their employees in the long run. Again, I think you did an excellent job of approaching this controversial topic.

I go back and forth on minimum wage. Reading the opponents of minimum wage (Hazlitt, Rothbard), their arguments make sense to me, it seems extremely logical. On the other hand, a lot of economists say there is no negative impact on job growth (http://www.epi.org/minimum-wage-statement/). Ultimately, I don’t know where I stand. I can say that I worked a part time job (as a library page) for the city of Memphis, and we were very excited when the city instituted a living wage for all workers. Until all part time workers were laid off because the city could not afford to pay us the living wage.

This blog was beautifully laid out and I really enjoyed how you gave background information to help people like me who are not every educated on how the minimum wage has changed over time.Also, giving the pros and cons of this controversial issue was the best source of this blog. I agree that a minimum wage increase would not be a good idea. Simply because the massive lay-off that companies had just a few years back really triggered poverty, dependence on welfare and federal assistance, and companies. Having to experience my mother being laid off, my family suffered tremendously and it took a while for us to get back on track financially, mentally, and emotionally. Moreover, it is stated that this would shut teenagers and young adults out of the workforce. I do not think that that it is a good idea because teenagers and young adults need that experience in the workforce before going to college and getting an job that requires a degree. If teenagers and young adults have never experienced a working environment, that would be terrible for a resume and terrible when first placed in one. Teenagers and young adults need to experience working ,so that when time comes it would not be detrimental to them or their job. Indifferent, I like the idea of raising the minimum wage because it reduces inequality in the workforce between gender and race, That is a huge issue itself. Overall, minimum wage is very controversial and both sides are very proven flawlessly. It is just the matter of downfall is Americans willing to take with minimum wage.

I’m with you I too don’t believe that minimum wage was ever meant to be a living wage and I think certain people and certain industries failed to realize that especially when it comes to the fast food industry. I do on the other hand believe that wages regardless of job or career field should always increase with the times and environment. It makes no sense for the cost of living to go up and the money a person is making doesn’t. Much of this to me has more to do with job skill training something that certain parts of our workforce throughout the country lack because if people become obsolete they’ll always need someone to work the machines. Check out the article I’ve attached.

First off this was an amazing post you displayed great unbiased arguments for both sides and that is typically hard to do when you agree mainly with one side. It also gave me information I had no idea about regarding this topic. Very well done.

Before reading this post I was always against increasing minimum wage and this post confirmed why I will continue to be. I have also felt like if an individual did not like their wage they could find another job that paid better. You see people do this all the time. If a companies started increasing minimum wage they would also have to increase the managers and all the higher ups pay. This would eventually result with more people being let go because the companies would not produce enough revenue to keep the business going and pay all the employees too. With more people being laid off this would increase the number of people on welfare and food stamps which would make our taxes go up. Hence, why we should not raise minimum wage.

Like you I have also worked a minimum wage job and honestly I did not like it. That job taught me that I must work hard to get the job I really wanted to make a nice living. So if the government raises the minimum wage up I feel that other kids and even young adults will not learn this same lesson and they will be content with flipping burgers at McDonalds the rest of their life.